Having some fun this summer!

Not to be a pessimist (because I really try not to do that) but do you ever feel that summer is over before it begins? I guess because summer has sprung on us so fast I want to make sure we are making the most of every moment!

I ran across this sweet idea and had to run with it. I love the idea of having something...wether it be big or small....to do everyday!

make something MONDAY: crafts or projects

time to read TUESDAY: weekly trip to the library

what's cooking WEDNESDAY: baking or cooking

be thoughtful THURSDAY: write letters, make cookies, do a service project

somewhere fun FRIDAY: go swimming, visit a museum, get out of the house

I'm actually putting some of the finishing touches on my calendar so this week has been kind of random, but last week we really had some fun!

For our monday craft, we tried our hand at colored rice. I know it sounds weird but we seriously had a blast doing this one!

I just used about 1/3 cups of rice per bag and we did 5 colors. According to the website we used about 4-5 drops of color and a few squirts of hand sanitizer (I guess this helps to "set" the color). All I had was bath and body hand sanitizer, but it worked fine. It took quite a while to dry so maybe do this first thing in the morning?

So pretty!

We called it her toys magic sand box!

I thought this would be fun, but seriously this entertained her for an hour at least!

And, as you can see, she was pretty warn out afterwards!

Tuesday we made our weekly trip to the library. I would say previous to this I went about every other week....but I don't think it's a bad idea to go weekly. It sure it nice to add some new books to our nightly reading. And it's nice to see what she likes. Usually there is a used section in the library and we've been able to find some of our favorites there for less than a dollar!

Wednesday we made dinner from our new favorite cook book...our best bites. My SIL Heidi turned me onto this book/website and they are awesome! I think she got her copy at Deseret Book for close to 30.00, but Costco was carrying it and I snagged it for about 15.00! I would highly recommend it (or just snag the recipes off the website)! I mean I LOVE food network, so you'd think I'd like to cook more...but I felt like I was stuck in a rut making the same thing all the time. I really feel inspired by this cookbook! Oh and it's yummy and usually pretty easy too! Also, thanks to Heidi, I've been using these shopping lists and have found that they keep me SO much more organized. They have really helped me keep the grocery budget in check. Give them a try...you will feel so much better you did!

Thursday we were helping a friend out by having Bailey over to hang out for the afternoon....but let me tell you we had a blast! It's fun to have a buddy practically next door. They unanimously decided that painting would be a good idea. I think they were right! In the end I almost felt as though they were helping us out by letting Bailey come over because, like I said, we had a blast and it was nice for Katy to switch up her day. Bailey was cracking me up, she kept wanting to know where Steve went. I had to explain that he was at work!

Friday we went hiking up Milcreek Canyon. It's a favorite place of ours because dogs can come. We decided Colt will not officially be a part of our family until he comes hiking with us! We tried to go to dog lake, but the top of the canyon was closed due to all the snow!!! I cant remember what hike this was but it was beautiful! Katy actually hiked about a half a mile all by herself!

Toward the top when the trail "opened up" and we got these incredible views! Katy insisted on holding Chuck. Dang I need to remember what days you can have your dog's off leash because that was annoying, but we felt like we needed to follow the rules!

Colt was happy to lay spread eagle in the freezing cold water any chance he had! Luckily for us he didn't get Guardia by drink all the stream water!

Katy LOVED all the flowers. I felt like since most of them were dandy lions that she picked, that was okay! Ha!

Saturday night Jon and Michelle had us over for a BBQ. We had a great time, even though you cant tell by this picture! It was great to see everyone and it was such a beautiful night! Thank you again for the great time!

SOOOOOO...hopefully this little post inspires you to do some fun things with your kiddos this summer. Oh and hey if you have any great craft/fun ideas shoot them my way!!!